Tag: parents

Things I am Ungrateful For

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1. No toddler cough syrup. It amazes me that the medical world can transplant organs, cure horrible diseases, etc. And yet they can’t come up with a cough medicine for a sick 20 month old. I say we lock some scientist up with a few sick toddlers for a few days and see what they come up with. My guess would be some kick ass cough syrup.

2. Benadryl. It doesn’t  help Baylie sleep because she hates the taste and spits most of it out.

3. Rude people. People that are in line at CVS at 1pm on a Wednesday buying beer and don’t let the mom with a sick and sleeping kiddo slung over her shoulder with her enormous purse on the other arm, pedialyte pops and tylenol in her hand go in front of them. I know that was an awkward and run on sentence and no, I don’t care.

4. Mother Nature. I get that it’s winter and all, but the extreme wind that keeps blowing the blankets, towels, frost cloth, sheets, etc. off of my plants thus negating all my hard work to keep them from freezing, is a bit overkill, no? It’s fun to make it feel like winter now and then, but could we cap that low temperature around 40 degrees?

5. Stupid people. Why would someone call and leave you a voice mail stating the purpose of their call and a request for a call back without telling you their name? Idiots, that’s who.

 

January is Not Our Month

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Our family calendar:

Phew. I am so happy to see February. It seems that January 2011 has turned into our “sick month”. We started out with the stomach flu two weeks ago.

Then last week, Baylie suffered a buckle fracture in her ankle. No, I was not drinking wine and ignoring the child. She was actually at the Little Gym and is trying very hard to learn to jump. She launched herself off of a 10 inch high piece of equipment and sort of decided mid jump to make it a big step instead of a jump and landed awkwardly on her left foot. I knew instantly something was wrong – she had the “I just got 4 vaccinations” cry and then she wouldn’t walk. This kid was crawling at 6 months, she lives to move especially when she’s with her buddies so for her to insist on sitting in my lap for the remainder of class was a huge red flag. Only our kid gets hurt in a literally padded room. Thankfully the doctor insists that it will be totally fine, it’s not going to affect her softball career later in life nor is it a sign on any problem with her bones. He said it’s actually pretty common and minor enough that they don’t cast it. She’s getting around fine by crawling or scooting and has been walking more and more. I caught her trying to climb into her crib yesterday to get a pacifier so I’m thinking she’s milking it a little for the extra carry time by mom and all the pacifiers she can stand.

Thinking we’ve had our fill of doctors and hospitals for the year, I was resistant to the idea that Bay was a little congested yesterday morning. I tried to blame her phlegmy cough on her yogurt but no luck. By the time she woke up from her nap she was wheezing like an asthmatic and again, only wanted to be snuggled. It’s never a good sign when she wants to sit still. 3 hours of Vick’s Plug In Vapors, the frog shaped humidifier cranked up to high and watching Baby Einstein snuggled together in her room, she climbed out of our chair and wanted to play with her kitchen set – whenever she wants to try to feed Bear T. Dog a fake hot dog, things are looking up.

I’m very much not looking forward to yet another trip to the doctor today. Mostly because I don’t want to sit on the sick kid side of the waiting room. The only other time we’ve been to the doctor for being sick (yes, we’re extremely lucky that B is almost two years old and this is the first time she’s been sick) I thought she had an ear infection so we sat on the “well” side because I didn’t want her to catch anything. I don’t think the other moms and nannys are going to take kindly to my wheezing, juicy coughing kiddo on the well side so I’m going to have to bite the bullet, sanitize our chairs and hold my breath like the big girl that I am.

Is it February yet?

Resolution Backfire

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Per my New Year’s Resolution to do more gardening so that I can show B where food really comes from, we did a big gardening day a few weekends ago. Peter completed the “salad table”, I planted the rose bushes I got for Christmas, Freesia bulbs and Amaryllis bulbs, carrot and onion seeds, and lastly prepped the raised bed to plant tomatoes next month. I also fertilized everything within an inch of their little plant lives.

All the while Baylie was hard at work digging, putting rocks in a bucket, and moving her toys from her play house to the raised bed garden and then back using her wagon. Engrossed in digging holes, I didn’t realize Bay had traveled through the open bedroom door to retrieve my favorite Tory Burch flats left on the floor. She proceeded to fill them with dirt and rocks and then present them to me with a look of satisfaction that only a mother could appreciate. She was so proud of herself, I had to laugh! Thankfully, they were easily emptied and no damage.

I’m now showing her how to fill pots rather than shoes.

Picture Perfect

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I got this picture frame for Christmas and I love it. It’s a chalkboard frame and it matches the chalkboard wall in our kitchen so it’s a huge hit with all of us. I finally decided which picture to put in it and what to write on it:

Dare to Dream?

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I had the most vivid and crazy dreams the other night. None of it made any sense, but at least they weren’t nightmares.

The bad part about them is they felt like work – I was dreaming about writing the blog and some funny idea that I had dreamt about. Yes dreamt about…in my dream I was dreaming. And the really weird part is that the in dream I was dreaming about, I was making a salad and how it was this brilliant recipe and the blog was going to be about how it came to me in a dream.

The interesting thing is that this blog was, in fact, a result of my dream. However, obviously the content is slightly different.

If only the work I do in my dreams was more productive….if I could sleep type or sleep mop, then I’d be on to something.

A Watched Phone Never Boils

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Er, rings.

Nap time in our house means Baylor sleeps for approximately 2 hours and mommy scrambles to get as much done in those 2 hours as possible. I can be quite productive – “to do” items are prioritized not only by need, but also if it can be accomplished with the help of my “assistant”. Dishes these days are a toss up. She’s actually pretty good at handing me the silverware and then is totally entertained pushing the buttons – she actually locked out the controls the other day and I had to break out the manual to undo it. Laundry is fine as long as she gets to push and pull the baskets, put the wash into the dryer, push all the buttons and I can fold it on the bed so she can’t pull down the freshly folded shirts. Most household cleaning is doable. She really likes to swiffer, take turns holding the vacuum and makes “ppssshhht ppssshhhtt” sounds while holding the spray bottles of cleaner (because she can’t actually squirt it, she just makes the sound).  But anything to do with the office is a no go – she lllooooovvveeess to type on the computer, whether or not I’m sitting at the computer makes no difference. She climbs into the chair and either wrestles me for the keyboard and mouse or stands behind me and tries to get the headband, hair tie or ear piece away from my head. Not only is it unproductive, it’s also potentially painful.

That said, all calls that I need to make, bills to be paid, blogs to be written and read, emails to be sent, etc. take place between in the hours of noon and 2pm. Most significant are the calls because I’m self conscious about a screaming kid in the back ground, especially when it’s a semi professional call. I try to make all calls of this nature around noon and then pray that the return call will happen before 2pm. Which, it almost never does. As soon as I hear the tell-tale sounds of a baby starting to wake up, I know that phone is going to ring. I try to ignore the sounds. If it hasn’t been two hours yet, I go in and silently rock her back to sleep, begging for just 45 more minutes.

No sooner do I close the door and sigh with relief… the whimpers develop into wails and I close out what I’m working on. Only then does the phone in fact, ring.

 

Diaper Dilemma

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For some reason, when Baylie gets diaper rash she REALLY gets diaper rash. It seems like the combination of a new tooth and the super chlorinated water she inevitably drinks at swim lessons makes for a lethal combination for her booty.

This past week was particularly bad. She was at the point of refusing to let me  use wipes – she would scream and squirm and it was obvious that her poor red booty was just too sore for the harsh wipes. That said, I was giving her a quick rinse twice a day in addition to her nightly bath. Then, I found California Baby Diaper Area Wash. I love this all natural brand any way so it was a no brainer for us to try it.  It uses Calendula and Aloe Vera to soothe and then cleanse the tender skin. It cools the burn and helps wash up saving us from 19 baths a day. It also really helped clear up the rash.

Target, Buy Buy Baby and Diapers.com all carry the California Baby line as well as Californiababy.com. I love their “relaxing  aroma therapy” scented line – it makes for pleasant bubble baths and a nice smelling kiddo – I think the fact that the bubble bath comes with a bubble wand is adorable.

My Resolutions For The New Year

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I really don’t like resolutions. I feel like they make what is already a sad time of year worse. There’s nothing more depressing than knowing the fun, socializing, decorating, getting and giving, drinking and eating of the holidays are over and now I’m supposed to add a new and undoubtedly unfun thing into my life too? No gracias.

Thankfully for me, I don’t have any vices I’m willing to give up. We’re planning to have more kids some day so I’ll give up the drinking then – why put off that good bottle of wine on a random Thursday night now? I don’t smoke so I’ve got a big check mark next to that resolution and I wear sunscreen and my seatbelt so we’re good there too. I already work out and I’m near wedding weight so that’s covered. I already pinch our pennies, clip coupons and work any discount possible so that’s out.

The two things I’ve come up with are actually very fun resolutions so the chances of sticking with them are good. First, I need to get back into volunteering more. I love Pets On Wheels as written about in Give A Little Bit, but I’ve gotten away from it because it can be a hassle wrangling Travis T. Dog and the kiddo into the car and then through the nursing home. Last time we were there, a resident was coloring which Bay was all to happy to help out with. It’s always a toss up whether someone is a baby person or a dog person and this lady was not a baby person. It was a little exhausting getting B out of her room without the markers and with little screaming. But I think I build it up too much in my head and need to just take it for what it is. If we stay for 45 or 15 minutes, that’s good enough and that’s what I need to focus on.

Second, I’m going to get serious about growing our garden. I love to be in the yard and I love to grow beautiful flowers, but I tend to become a slacker on fruits and veggies once it starts to get hot and requires more work to keep the plants producing and or alive. But I really want Baylie to know that food doesn’t come from the grocery, but from the ground. So in addition to the two beautiful new rose bushes I got for Christmas, we’re going to plant carrots and scallions in the same planter. Then our usual two tomatoes, but I’m going to put in some serious effort to keep them alive past May. The jalapeno and sweet pepper that already exist and produce despite zero attention are going to get some serious TLC. Peter is building us a Martha Stewart inspired lettuce table that will be home to spinach, red leaf, butter lettuce and also strawberries – it’s my damn lettuce table and if I want it to be a lettuce and strawberry table, so be it.

Lastly, as soon as it’s warmer than 60 degrees out, B and I are going to plant the flower bulbs that I put out every year. Growing up, we always had pots of bulbs in the windows of our house. There was nothing prettier to me than the little green shoots on a dark, cold morning. Something about them made me feel like it wasn’t going to be cold and dark forever because spring was just around the corner.

I think any more than this amount of self improving would be like trying to make a sunset prettier…it would just be too much 😉

Oooh You Nasty Boys

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Baylie and I hit the park to play and feed the ducks at least twice a week. B climbs up to the BIG slide and swirls her way down to the sand. Then back up and back down at least 10 times. It wears her out and builds up her coordination. Educational AND exhausting – my favorite combination.

The ducks and geese at the park are very people friendly. If you walk towards them, they walk towards you in anticipation of snacks. I would even venture to say too friendly as the geese hiss at you if you’re not fast enough with the stale graham crackers. But it doesn’t phase Bay, she throws a few broken crackers, eats a few and enjoys making duck sounds.

Yesterday marked the second time I regulated on some kid at the park. It’s never very busy, but there is inevitably some kid, usually a boy, that is there with a baby sitter or a parent on a cell phone.  And thus, the kid is running wild and not in a good way. They run past the toddlers on the playground nearly knocking them over. They scream “NO BABIES!!” in my munchkins’ face. Or they chase and kick at the ducks as we are feeding them. Sadly for them, I’m not that mom that ignores this kind of behavior, especially if it’s going to hurt my kid or an animal.

The part that really ticks me off is that the guardian of the two kids I’ve yelled at never say a word. They just ignore the fact that a stranger has disciplined (or attempted to) their kid. Maybe they are embarrassed, or maybe they really don’t care – but I really want to know, why do mom’s allow their sons to be so abusive? I know the saying “boys will be boys” which, I get, to an extent. I’ve babysat for three brothers 5 days a week for at least 2 summers so I get boys being rougher on each other and their need to wrestle (this post isn’t about them, btw, they were a blast – mostly because I won most of the wrestling matches). But are parents really teaching  their  kid to be a decent human being by letting them strike at a defenseless animal or worse, child? I’m not saying it’s easy to do. It’s not fun having to tell your child no or wait out a temper tantrum (I actually have no problem with this because I have no shame) in public, but it’s necessary. I think the thing that is easy to forget is that we’re not raising kids, we’re raising small adults. And if we’re not the one’s to tell them to behave, is that because we think it will be better if they hear it from their teacher, or worse, their boss some day?

 

Clean Up Clean Out

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The spring cleaning bug has bitten at our house. Peter and I have gotten into the “clean up, clean out, organize and get rid of it” mode. Slowly but surely, we’re making our way through the closets, the cabinets and the toy bins (yes, there are more than one) and getting organized.  And hopefully getting enough stuff out to make a few bucks at a garage sale.

It’s amazing the amount of crap that you accumulate – especially when you have kids. It becomes very apparent after Christmas and birthdays when there is an influx of new toys and clothes. Or after a growth spurt where the “too small” clothes are tangled in a pile with the new clothes.

Because we are planning to have more than one child, we don’t get rid of a lot of Baylie’s stuff. Rather, we clog up most of my parent’s storage unit, which they are undoubtedly regretting offering us to use. As first time parents and first grandchild for my mom, there is an excess of stuff. We didn’t have 4 bottles, we had 10. And 10 of the various size nipples that are required for each stage of baby-hood. Don’t get me started on clothes – first grandchild, girl, first child – enough said. I could build her a full size house out of the storage bins of just clothes. Toys that she has grown out of, the baby bath that’s too small, the beastly stroller we used until she was big enough to fit in the jogger and two baby carrier car seats all are wrapped in trash bags (we’re classy organizers) and marked waiting for their next owner.

That said, I have come across a lot of stuff that I just don’t think we need to hang on to. Like stuffed animals, we have 29,000 of them and maybe 5 get played with. I’m not saying I’m the grinch and I’m going to get rid of them all, but some of the little trinket ones need to goooo. And the books that have been chewed up, torn apart and ripped up are out.

Moving on to my side of the closet….When you gain and lose 50 lbs over a 2 year period, the sizes of clothing in your closet vary wildly. There’s the pre-pregnancy clothing (aka, the skinny bitch stuff), the gaining-a-few-pounds sizes, the starting-to-need-elastic-waist pants, the super-cute-maternity clothes and finally the whatever-will-fit-over-my-ass-belly-boobs-and-doesn’t-look-too-bad clothes. And the process reverses after the baby is here. As the pounds have come off, I’ve moved clothes to what else, a storage bin. But I’ve never done a full sweep of the closet and the off-season stuff I put in storage under the bed. I’m more than half way through, just two drawers and accessories to go!

Peter has been hard at work in the garage. We have a great garage; it holds two cars and lot of stuff, which is both great and terrible as it tends to get messy easily. Thus causing me to walk through a maze of Costco paper towels, boxes of diapers, the jogger, the wagon, a bag of trash…the list goes on. He totally changed the layout of the storage racks and added a HUGE work table complete with peg boards and a new miter saw. Not sure how that’s helping us organize…but it is helping him make me a new “lettuce table”. More to come on that in a later post. It’s nice having a hubby who can sue people AND make stuff.

The kitchen, office and laundry rooms are next on my list. I think the level of difficulty will go in that order with the hardest being the laundry. We have a lot of great storage, but do not utilize it well which means a lot of extra work trying to decide the most efficient way to set it up. Currently it is the catch-all for a lot of crap – I found dog treats under a lot of other crap on the counter across from the washer the other day and started to freak out. I was picturing being on that show Hoarders and finding things I haven’t seen in years when I finally clean out all the junk. It was a frightening thought and has only fed my need to keep going!